cmarshall - 6:00 pm on Jul 13, 2007 (gmt 0)

Kapow has a very good point, and one that speaks directly to what I was saying.

People get accessibility and usability mixed up all the time. In many cases, they are one and the same, however, they can diverge significantly.

A good example of this is highly interactive content like AJAX and Flash. These technologies, when properly used, can make a page far, FAR more usable. They can make people like kapow's vict- er, subjects a LOT happier.

However, they can also introduce serious accessibility issues.

An example from the site I'm doing right now is that I am leveraging the Google Maps API [google.com] to present a search for events.

It works incredibly well. I was demonstrating it to several people the other day, and they were blown away by how natural it is. I have to tip my hat to the folks at Google. They did a great job.

However, it doesn't translate well to blind accessibility. I need to provide a separate form for non-JavaScript users, and I'd like screen readers to be directed there as well [webmasterworld.com]. It will be a great deal less usable than the nice GM version, but will allow its users access to the full power of the system.

[edited by: cmarshall at 6:53 pm (utc) on July 13, 2007]